Take the Eagle Claw Technique he had just used, for example. If he could observe a true golden eagle hunting, perhaps he could upgrade the Eagle Claw Technique in a targeted manner and transcend its ordinary limits.
Of course, this was not something that could be accomplished overnight.
Afterward, Li Zhi went back over the area and retrieved the bone spurs he had thrown out one by one.
Then Li Zhi followed the route he had taken to leave the Barren Ancient Forest.
It was not that he did not want to continue crossing the Barren Ancient Forest. Rather, he was somewhat dissatisfied with his own strength.
Killing several Netherworld Wolves that had yet to become demon beasts had already left him covered in blood.
What if he encountered even stronger Fierce Beasts on the road ahead? Would he not end up injured?
Moreover, Li Zhi had always felt that the Blackwater Lake he had passed earlier was unusual.
That Nine-Horned Five-Eyed Blackwater Buffalo had been able to transform by shedding its skin. Perhaps it was related to the Blackwater in that lake.
The flesh and blood after its transformation had been filled with rich Life Essence.
Li Zhi felt that perhaps he could try using the Blackwater from that lake to temper his physique.
At present, an enormous amount of Life Essence still lay accumulated within his body, not yet fully digested and absorbed by his flesh.
If he rashly entered the cultivation world, there was a high chance that he would be captured by evil people and refined into human medicine.
Li Zhi felt that ten thousand jin of Divine Power in one arm was probably not the limit of his physical body.
The fact that his Bitter Sea could be opened to the size of a soccer field in one go was enough to show that his physical origin was already sufficiently powerful.
It might not even be weaker than that of some cultivators in the Dao Palace Realm.
However, developing the Divine Power of the physical body could not be accomplished through absorbing Life Essence alone.
His body needed special tempering. He might even need to constantly battle Fierce Beasts to draw out his physical potential.
Moving cautiously along the route he had come by, Li Zhi encountered few obstacles before reaching the edge of the forest.
After observing in secret for half a day and confirming that there were no other cultivators around, he emerged from the Barren Ancient Forest.
Then he arrived beside the Blackwater Lake.
After watching the lake for a moment, Li Zhi directly released the Netherworld Wolf King from the Snakeskin Cosmos Pouch.
He promptly threw it into the lake.
The Wolf King, which had just passed through the Blackwater Lake, immediately let out a painful howl.
Yet the lake seemed to possess an enormous pulling force. The more the Wolf King struggled, the faster it sank.
Before long, it had completely disappeared beneath the black water.
Just as Li Zhi thought the Wolf King was beyond saving, the surface of the lake suddenly began to churn. The Wolf King, covered in bloody flesh, leaped directly out of the water and bounded toward the shore.
Li Zhi had already opened the Snakeskin Cosmos Pouch and been waiting for this moment. In an instant, he took the Wolf King into the pouch.
Then he examined the Wolf King's condition.
It looked covered in blood and torn flesh, but Li Zhi sensed a more condensed vitality within its body.
It seemed that once its injuries healed, its muscles and bones would become even stronger.
Since the lake was not simply a death zone, Li Zhi felt relieved.
Afterward, he ended the Wolf King's suffering.
He then threw the Wolf King's flesh and blood into the Primal Dense Forest.
Li Zhi began observing from the shadows to see whether the flesh was poisonous.
When he saw that the animals that had eaten the Wolf King's flesh showed no signs of poisoning, Li Zhi felt somewhat more at ease.
Over the next few days, Li Zhi captured quite a few animals from the forest and conducted more Blackwater corrosion experiments.
He ultimately concluded that the more vigorous a beast's blood and qi, the better it could withstand the corrosion of the lake's Blackwater.
The beasts that could not withstand it directly turned into scraps.
After enduring it, their blood and qi would become somewhat stronger.
A month later, after repeated experiments, Li Zhi finally decided to personally experience the power of the lake's Blackwater.
He first dipped his left hand into the Blackwater.
He immediately felt a stabbing pain, but he found no sign that his skin was dissolving, which finally put him at ease.
He promptly circulated the power of his blood and qi into his left hand, and the stabbing pain seemed to weaken slightly.
Five minutes later, when he felt that his left hand had adapted to the corrosion of the Blackwater, he pulled it out.
Aside from some redness and swelling, his hand was not covered in blood.
Moreover, Li Zhi felt that the blood and qi in his left hand had grown somewhat more solid. A trace of joy appeared on his face.
Afterward, Li Zhi walked into the lake with his entire body.
At first, he merely soaked in the Blackwater near the shore to condense his blood and qi.
Later, he gradually moved toward the center of the lake.
As his ability to withstand the corrosive power of the Blackwater grew stronger,
Li Zhi's strength also increased steadily.
Ten months later, relying solely on the strength of his physical body, he could wield thirty thousand jin of Divine Power with one arm.
Silver specks gradually began appearing in the bone blood within his marrow.
At the same time, more and more silver specks appeared in the vital blood within his body, and the vitality contained in his vital blood grew increasingly vigorous.
If Li Zhi had not circulated the Longevity Locking Body Art every day to lock away his own blood and qi,
a phenomenon of Blood Qi Wolf Smoke would probably have already appeared above his head.
During this period, although Li Zhi's Bitter Sea did not continue expanding, the Life Essence within it had become more than twice as condensed.
Li Zhi finally figured out where the Divine Marks in his Bitter Sea had gone.
The Silver Giant Island and Immortal Tree that had appeared in Li Zhi's Bitter Sea had been condensed from Divine Marks.
However, unlike what was recorded in the Wheel and Sea Scroll of the Primordial Longevity Art, where cultivators had to personally control the form of their Divine Marks and forge them into a Divine Tree,
the Immortal Tree in Li Zhi's Bitter Sea seemed to have been formed by nature itself, without the slightest trace of later carving. Moreover, he had an additional Giant Island compared to cultivators who practiced the Primordial Longevity Art normally.
During this period, every few days, Li Zhi would venture deep into the Ancient Deep Forest and battle those Fierce Beasts to strengthen his practical combat abilities.
Battling the many kinds of snakes allowed Li Zhi to comprehend a way to use Coiling Force.
Battling giant bears, fierce tigers, and Demon Apes deepened Li Zhi's understanding of the tiger pounce and allowed him to comprehend a type of Penetrating Force.
Chasing sheep and deer made Li Zhi faster, while also making his movement technique more agile.
Nearly a year of arduous cultivation left him feeling that the Life Essence accumulated within his body was about to run dry.
Recently, he had been eating more and more food.
Yet his strength seemed to have fallen into stagnation.
One day, after finishing his boxing practice, Li Zhi once again saw a Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird roar across the sky.
Its talons were clutching a Mammoth Giant Elephant weighing tens of thousands of jin.
Such terrifying claw strength made Li Zhi unable to conceal a trace of envy.
Afterward, Li Zhi glanced at the Blackwater Lake, which was practically useless to him now, and then chased after the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird.
Before leaving, he planned to see whether he could learn some true claw arts from that Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird.
Just as Li Zhi was pursuing the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird,
two young cultivators around twenty years old arrived at the Small Town on the outskirts of the Barren Ancient Forest.
One man and one woman both displayed an extraordinary air, and they seemed not to be local cultivators from Yan State.
The pair were both dressed in purple robes, with tall figures and handsome features.
The man had a refined and gentle bearing, while the woman carried a heroic air between her brows.
As soon as the two entered the Small Town, some cultivators stationed there immediately reported the situation to their superiors.
The pair paid no attention to the local cultivators' little actions.
After they checked into an inn, the heroic-looking woman showed a trace of worry between her brows and said, "Brother Shuwen, are you really going to the Barren Ancient Forbidden Zone?"
"When did I ever say I was going to the Barren Ancient Forbidden Zone?" the man asked in surprise after hearing her accusation.
"If you are not going to the Barren Ancient Forbidden Zone, why did you come here? This time, we finally managed to follow our clan uncle to the Southern Domain for experience. Instead of discussing the Dao and sparring with the Heavenly Prides of the Southern Domain, you insisted on splitting up from everyone and coming here alone." The woman clearly did not understand the man's purpose in coming here.
"Caihong, I think you should travel with Jiang Yifei and the others. If you follow me, you probably will not achieve the purpose of gaining experience." Jiang Shuwen spoke with some helplessness.
"Then tell me why you came here. Otherwise, I am following you no matter what." Jiang Caihong stared at Jiang Shuwen.
Jiang Shuwen said, "All right. It does not hurt to tell you. Earlier, when we were traveling through Wei State, I heard a cultivator from Yan State say that a Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird had recently appeared in this forest on the outskirts of the Barren Ancient Forbidden Zone. My purpose in coming here is precisely to find it."
Jiang Caihong exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Shuwen, does that mean your Demon Refining Pot now needs the True Soul of a Fierce Bird like the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird?"
Jiang Shuwen looked slightly embarrassed. "Do not talk nonsense. It would be troublesome if someone from the demon race heard you. By then, even the Demon Soldiers under Old Peng King might come looking for trouble with me. I did not come to find this Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird to extract its True Soul. I want to tame it as a mount and take it back to train properly."
Jiang Caihong chuckled. "Brother Shuwen, so you still have not forgotten being defeated by the Little Golden-Winged Peng King."
Before you continue